We’ve rearranged the study again now, so that the bed is wider for either David or Oliver. Quite effective really: Dot’s idea, of course. The weather is still cold, though there was a slightly warmer day yesterday. (I think it was yesterday.) Today we had our hair cut before I had a bath and then dropped Dot off in Magdalen Street to see Carrie B for lunch. After that I finished off the Alternative Carol service script and leaflet and walked to the dentist, who has adjusted my bite. Don’t ask. On the way home I bought some last-minute things for Oliver and Andrew.
A week ago, on Tuesday the 12th, we had our Canteen Christmas lunch, which was much better than the Holiday Inn official Christmas Archant lunch. The usual suspects were there, and because of where I found myself placed I spent some time talking to Janet, who I believe is Dennis’s husband. I don’t really know who Dennis is.
The next day , which was cold and wet, I went to Jack Gordon’s funeral at Earlham. No Brian (I presume he was not feeling too good), but Robin and Shelagh were there, plus Keith Skipper and his wife, Bill Woodcock, Graham Corney (photographer), someone called Ann who used to work on the Evening News, and of course Frank Gordon (Jack’s brother) and Jack’s wife Sylvia and his daughter Sally, who used to work as a subs’ runner. She is now a Californian and, judging by the accent, she has been for some time. Nice girl. Went to wake at the Garden House pub, near Phil’s.
In the evening we went to Sillars’ Christmas meal at the Blue Boar in Sprowston. It wasn’t really a Christmas meal, but a kind of buffet, with filled rolls and chips, among other things. Actually vey nice. We sat with Janet and Graham and someone called Peter, who plays trumpet, I think. Spoke to Penny for quite a while. Neville and Mary weren’t there because Mary had a headache, but quite a good attendance. Apparently Simon has had a row with the conductor and is leaving, at least for a while. Pity.
The next day Dot and I played at a Christingle for Year 6 of Angel Road school at St Luke’s Church. It wasn’t too bad, and the children were very well behaved as well as good-humoured.
On Saturday we were supposed to be carol-singing in the icy wastes of Anglia Square, but things got on top of us and we abandoned the idea so that we could fit in several North Norfolk visits, starting at Sheila’s where we encountered Bridgett, doing her hair. Had a good talk with her, and I can’t remember the last time that happened. Sheila seemed remarkably perky.
We then took some flowers to the cemetery and drove to Mundesley, where we called in on Lucy and had a couple of very nice biscuits from Lidl. She is not too bad, and we had a good chat, but Naomi is in a bad way. Lucy aims to move to Norwich to look after her.
Following this we dropped off the Paston magazines at Rob’s and visited Jessie, who again seems pretty well, and had a cup of tea and a bit of cake. As we’d missed lunch we bought fish and chips when we got back to Norwich.
This didn’t have the bad effect on my digestion that I thought it would, and I slept quite well, but halfway through the Christmas lunch at St Augustine’s the following day I got a really bad pain in my lower back, which hasn’t gone away, though it is better than it was. Bizarre. The lunch followed Messy Christmas, organised by Carrie, which didn’t exactly go smoothly, but was OK. We didn’t get home much before 4pm.